A Comparative Study of the Tradition of "Divine Aid" in the Glorious Quran and the Old Testament

Most of the instances of the divine Unseen aid mentioned in the glorious Quran is related to the previous nations and followers of the previous religions. In the meantime, the verses revealed about Israelites or Musa's nation are more than those revealed about other nations. Quranic view of "divine aid" in is, in some cases, similar to that of Old Testament in terms of kind, conditions, and functions. The Quran also mentions the divine aid for Musa's nation when they left Egypt (Exodus), for Yahweh in desert and when God granted them the various blessings they wanted, although there are some differences between the Quran and Old Testament regarding some issues. The Quran does not mention God's promise to the offspring of Ibrahim to make them own the land through Isaac and Jacob, as it is mentioned in the Old Testament. Furthermore, the Quran does not mention the idea of giving the Promised Land to Israelites without any condition; rather, it mentions that such a bestowal is contingent upon obeying divine injunctions. We understand form Quranic verses that Israelites were liberated from imprisonment of Pharaoh and inherited the land in order to freely worship the Most High God. Some other kinds of divine aid are related to the Muslim nation in early Islam. The present paper discusses the features of divine Unseen aid mentioned in the Glorious Quran and Old Testament in terms of concept, kind, conditions and functions, while referring to the similarities and differences between these features in their text.